The Sacred Groves and Their Significance in Conserving Biodiversity An Overview

M L Khan, M L Khan, Ashalata Devi Khumbongmayum, Ashalata Devi Khumbongmayum, R S Tripathi, R S Tripathi

Abstract


Sacred groves are tracts of virgin forest with rich diversity, which have been protected by the local people forcenturies for their cultural and religious beliefs and taboos that the deities reside in them and protect the villagersfrom different calamities. Every sacred grove carries its own legends, lore, and myths which form the integral partof the sacred grove. An inextricable link between present society and past in terms of biodiversity, culture, religiousand ethnic heritage exists in sacred groves. Sacred groves are distributed across the globe, and diverse culturesrecognize them in different ways encoding various rules for their protection. Sacred groves occur in many parts ofIndia viz., Western Ghats, Central India, northeast India, etc. particularly where the indigenous communities live.These are known by different names given to them by the ethnic people. Sacred groves act as an ideal centre forbiodiversity conservation. Several plants and animals that are threatened in the forest are still well conserved in someof the sacred groves. It has been observed that several medicinal plants that are not to be found in the forest areabundant in the sacred groves. Further, rare, endangered, threatened and endemic species are often concentratedin sacred groves. The sacredness, religious beliefs and taboos play a significant role in promoting sustainableutilization and conservation of flora and fauna of the region. However, with the passage of time, considerablechanges have taken place in the extent of the sacred groves, in their vegetation structure, peoples’ perception towardsthem and the religious beliefs and taboos. Therefore, a holistic understanding of the current status, structure andfunction of sacred grove is essential for assessing their ecological role and formulating strategies for theirconservation. This paper briefly reviews the studies on sacred groves across the globe in general and India inparticular, highlighting that the tradition of sacred groves could provide a powerful tool for ensuring biodiversityconservation through community participation

Keywords


Traditional Practices, Sacred Groves, Indigenous Beliefs and Taboos, Biodiversity Conservation

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